EP4495314A1

EP4495314A1 - Tub and drum type washer dryer

Info

Publication number: EP4495314A1
Application number: EP24181967.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Zhehao Jiang; Yuhao Huang; Jin Lu
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2023-07-05
Filing date: 2024-06-13
Publication date: 2025-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 2044-06-13
Also published as: CN119265846A; EP4495314B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tub, used in a drum type washer dryer, and including a tub body. A first side of the tub body is provided with an opening, and a second side opposite to the first side is provided with a bottom wall. A support portion is connected to the bottom wall from an outer side of the bottom wall. After the support portion is connected to the bottom wall, an air channel is formed. The support portion includes a reinforcing portion extending laterally outward around the second wall. A drum type washer dryer including the tub is provided. A drive shaft passes through the support portion and the bottom wall, to be connected to a drum in the tub. The tub and the drum type washer dryer including the tub in the present invention can be simpler to manufacture and assemble, reduce adhesion of lint and dirt inside the bottom wall of the tub, and improve strength and rigidity of the tub including the air channel.

Description

The present invention relates to a drum type washer dryer and a tub used in the drum type washer dryer, and further relates to the field of air heat exchange technologies for a washer dryer.
A drum type washer dryer usually includes a laterally arranged tub, and clothes are washed and/or dried in the tub. An air channel is connected to at least one end of the tub, so that processing air is input into and/or discharged from the tub in a drying process, to dehumidify the clothes in the tub.
The disclosure of the Patent Application No. CN108118505A discloses a cylinder for a clothes drying appliance, including: a rear cylinder section having an air output opening, and at least one lid attached to the rear cylinder section, and an air duct, where the air duct is connected to the air output opening and is defined by the rear cylinder section and the at least one lid.
In the technical solutions shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 of the disclosure, the connection between the lid and the rear cylinder section breaks flatness of an inner surface of the rear cylinder section, which tends to accumulate lint generated in the drying process in the connection region, and accumulate various dirt in a washing process. In the technical solution shown in FIG. 4, an end wall at the position of the air duct of the rear cylinder section is relatively weak for not being reinforced by a reinforcing rib. The lid may have a reinforcing effect. However, a structure and a manufacturing process of the lid are complex, and a connection area between the lid and a base is small, which weakens the reinforcing effect of the lid.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a tub used in a drum type washer dryer and the drum type washer dryer including the tub, thereby improving at least one deficiency existing in the related art such as the above mentioned.
An embodiment of the present invention discloses a tub, used in a drum type washer dryer, and including a tub body. A first side of the tub body is provided with an opening, and a second side opposite to the first side is provided with a bottom wall. A support portion is connected to the bottom wall from an outer side of the bottom wall, one side of the bottom wall facing the support portion is provided with a first wall, one side of the support portion facing the bottom wall is provided with a second wall opposite to the first wall, after the support portion is connected to the bottom wall, an air channel is formed between the first wall and the second wall, one of an inlet and an outlet of the air channel is located on the bottom wall, another one of the inlet and the outlet of the air channel is at least partially located on the support portion, the support portion includes a reinforcing portion extending laterally outward around the second wall, and several first reinforcing ribs are arranged on the reinforcing portion.
The support portion and the bottom wall may be connected by any one or more of welding, gluing, screw fixing, or the like.
Further, in this embodiment, one side of the bottom wall away from the support portion is entirely flat, and/or, the first wall and a rest part of the bottom wall are on a same extension surface. The support portion includes a first surface facing the bottom wall and a second surface facing away from the bottom wall, and the second wall is recessed relative to the first surface in a direction away from the first wall.
In an optional embodiment, several second reinforcing ribs are arranged on a position that is on one side of the bottom wall facing the support portion, and avoids the first wall, and the support portion is welded to the bottom wall at the second reinforcing ribs.
In a specific embodiment, positions of at least some of the first reinforcing ribs correspond to positions of at least some of the second reinforcing ribs.
Preferably, at least some of the first reinforcing ribs are penetrated through and are welded to the second reinforcing ribs.
As an embodiment, several first reinforcing ribs are arranged on one side of the second wall facing away from the bottom wall.
Optionally, the first reinforcing ribs are evenly distributed along a circumferential direction on one side of the support portion facing away from the bottom wall.
Optionally, the tub body is made of a first material, and the support portion is made of a second material. A recycling rate of the first material is higher than that of the second material, and/or, strength of the second material is higher than that of the first material.
The first material includes a polypropylene material containing talc powder, and/or, the second material includes a polypropylene material containing fiberglass.
As an embodiment, a bearing is arranged on the support portion near a central region. The bottom wall is provided with a second hole. A drive shaft is supported by the bearing, and passes through the second hole, to drive a drum in the tub. A periphery of the bearing is reinforced by the several first reinforcing ribs.
The air channel avoids the bearing and presents an approximately "C" shaped extension path. The support portion covers most of the outer side of the bottom wall.
The support portion includes an outlet connection portion, and is connected to an external air channel, where the outlet connection portion has a cross section larger than a flow cross section of the air channel.
The tub body includes a front tub and a rear tub, the opening is located on the front tub, the bottom wall is located on the rear tub, and the front tub and the rear tub are made of a same recyclable material.
When technical conditions permit, the foregoing various embodiments may have various combination manners.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a drum type washer dryer, including the tub according to any one of the foregoing embodiments. An external air channel is connected to the air channel, and a blowing device is arranged in the external air channel, to cause air to flow. A drive shaft passes through the support portion and the bottom wall, to be connected to a drum in the tub.
A heat exchange device is connected to the air channel, and a cooling medium is introduced to exchange heat with air passing through the air channel.
The tub and the drum type washer dryer including the tub in the present invention can be simpler to manufacture and assemble, reduce adhesion of lint and dirt inside the bottom wall of the tub, and improve strength and rigidity of the tub including the air channel. In addition, only the support portion may be made of a material with high rigidity and strength, while low rigidity and strength of the tub body may be required, so that the tub body has a larger material selection space. For example, the tub body may be made of a low-cost material, and/or a material with high recyclability, which is more beneficial for environmental protection and sustainable development.
The following illustrates some specific embodiments of the present invention with reference to the figures. The following illustrates other various advantages of the present invention separately with the various specific embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of some components of a drum type washer dryer, where a tub is included;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an assembled tub;
FIG. 3 is a rear view of a bottom wall of a tub body; and
FIG. 4 is a rear view of a support portion.

To make the technical problem to be resolved by the present invention, the technical solutions and the beneficial technical effects of the present invention clearer and more comprehensible, the following further describes the present invention in detail with reference to the figures and a plurality of exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that, the specific embodiments described herein are merely used to explain the present invention, instead of limiting the protection scope of the present invention. In addition, the embodiments may share a same view or a plurality of views for description, but not all features in a same drawing can be interpreted as features necessary to one embodiment. On the contrary, the embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner provided that the embodiments are not technically mutually exclusive. Moreover, for the sake of simplicity, different embodiments of different aspects may be presented in a same specific design, but such presentation does not mean that the embodiments of these aspects should appear together. The disassemble and/or combination of all possible embodiments and/or technical features should also take into account the description of this specification and content that a person skilled in the art can directly and undoubtedly determine based on the description of this specification.
Before description, it should be pointed out that for the sake of convenience, this specification may use orientation terms or direction terms for description. The orientation terms or direction terms are relative to a routine use state of a drum type washer dryer. A person skilled in the art may clarify this from the description of the present invention without causing confusion. In this case, the orientation terms and direction terms should not be construed simply as indicating an orientation or direction in any state. Specifically, the orientation terms such as "front" and "rear" in this specification may be understood with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2; and "inner" may be relative to an internal space surrounded by the tub, while "outer" corresponds to "inner", that is, a space or an orientation outside the internal space defined by the tub.
Moreover, ordinal numbers such as the "first" and "second" are set to avoid confusion of constituent elements, and are not intended to limit the quantity, nor mean that they differ in importance.
Further, it needs to be pointed out that, due to a reason such as a proportional relationship, a space limitation on a reference numeral, or the like, it may need to refer to a plurality of figures for understanding in the following description.
The drum type washer dryer involved in the present invention may wash and/or dry clothes, so that a tub is usually connected to an air channel, or includes an air channel. In a drying process, air carrying moisture undergoes heat exchange in the air channel. The tub of the drum type washer dryer is generally arranged horizontally in an axial direction, or tilted at an angle, but still keeps a way of basically opening a door from a front side.
A structure of an embodiment of a drum type washer dryer 100 may be understood with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. As shown in figures, the drum type washer dryer 100 includes a tub 1 usually made of plastic, and a drum 2 is driven by a force transferred by a drive shaft 3 and rotatably located in the tub 1. Clothes are washed and/or dried in the drum 2. An air channel 10 is formed on the tub 1. One end of the air channel 10 is connected to an inner space of the tub 1, and another end is connected to an external air channel 20. A blowing device 21 is arranged in the external air channel 20. After the blowing device 21 is activated, air may enter the external air channel 20 through the air channel 10 from the tub 1, and re-enter the tub 1 after being heated in the external air channel 20; or is directly discharged from the machine from the external air channel 20. Alternatively, after the blowing device 21 is activated, the air enters the tub 1 from the external air channel 20 through the air channel 10. Usually, a flow direction of the air driven by the blowing device 21 remains unchanged, and is preset according to an actual design requirement. In fact, commonly, the air in the tub 1 is activated to enter the air channel 10, then enters the external air channel 20, and then returns to the tub 1 after being heated.
The tub 1 includes a tub body 11 that forms a main accommodation part of the tub 1. For ease of manufacturing, the tub body 11 is formed by a front tub 111 and a rear tub 112 that are sealed and butted. The tub body 11 is basically a round barrel shape. A first side of the tub body 11 is provided with an opening 12, and a second side opposite to the first side is provided with a bottom wall 13 (the bottom wall 13 is invisible in FIG. 1 due to the angle, but the position of the bottom wall 13 may be seen with reference to the reference numeral). The clothes may be put in or taken out through the opening 12. Specifically, the opening 12 is located on the front tub 111, and the bottom wall 13 is located on the rear tub 112. For the sake of cost saving, sustainable development, and the like, the front tub 111 and the rear tub 112 may be made of a same first material, especially made of a recyclable material, or the material price may be taken into account for appropriate selection. For example, the front tub 111 and the rear tub 112 may be made of a polypropylene material containing talc powder.
A support portion 30 is fixedly connected to the bottom wall 13 from an outer side of the bottom wall 13, to strengthen the bottom wall 13, and enhance rigidity and strength of the entire tub 1, preventing the tub 1 from being deformed or damaged under a high-intensity working condition. In addition, an air channel 10 is formed between the support portion 30 and the bottom wall 13. Therefore, the air channel 10 is formed in a very compact manner, saving an internal space of the machine.
The following focuses on description of the support portion 30, the bottom wall 13, and the structure of the air channel 10.
As shown in FIG. 3, an outer side or a rear side of the bottom wall 13 is provided with a first wall 131. Since the support portion 30 is installed on the bottom wall 13 from the rear side, it may also be considered that one side of the bottom wall 13 facing the support portion 30 is provided with the first wall 131. One side of the support portion 30 facing the bottom wall 13 is provided with a second wall 31 opposite to the first wall 131. Surfaces of the first wall 131 and the second wall 31 are basically smooth except for a necessary structure, to avoid accumulation of lint. Shapes of the first wall 131 and the second wall 31 basically match. In this way, after the support portion 30 is connected to the bottom wall 13, the air channel 10 is formed between the first wall 131 and the second wall 31. Especially, as shown in FIG. 3, the bottom wall 13 is provided with a first hole 132 connected to the first wall 131. Therefore, the first hole 132 may be used as an inlet 101 or an outlet 102 of the air channel 10. Another one of the inlet 101 or the outlet 102 of the air channel 10 is at least partially located on the support portion 30.
It can be seen clearly from FIG. 1 that, the support portion 30 includes a reinforcing portion 32 extending laterally outward around the second wall 31. Several first reinforcing ribs 33 are arranged on the reinforcing portion 32. The reinforcing portion 32 extending laterally outward not only makes the connection more stable, but also makes a stress of the position of the air channel 10 be laterally released and reduced, so that lost strength is better enhanced.
In a preferred embodiment, the support portion 30 covers most of the outer side of the bottom wall 13. For example, a range covered by the reinforcing portion 32 may be as large as possible. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the support portion 30 covers almost the entire outer side of the bottom wall 13, so that the support portion 30 can strengthen the entire bottom wall 13.
When a range covered by the support portion 30 is large enough, a bearing 36 may be arranged on the support portion 30 near a central region.
A central position of the bottom wall 13 is provided with a second hole 133. The drive shaft 3 is supported by the bearing 36, and passes through the second hole 133 on the bottom wall 13, to be fixedly connected to a holder 4 connected to the drum 2. In this way, the drive shaft 3 can transfer a rotational motion of a motor (not shown in the figures), to drive the drum 2 in the tub 1 to rotate. Preferably, since the bearing 36 carries a large force, a periphery of the bearing 36 is reinforced by several first reinforcing ribs 37.
Preferably, the air channel 10 avoids the bearing 36 and presents an approximately "C" shaped extension path. In this way, a path of the air channel 10 may be as long as possible.
In some embodiments, the support portion 30 is made of a second material different from the first material. Especially, the second material may be a material with higher strength and/or rigidity than the first material. For example, the second material includes a polypropylene material containing fiberglass.
Higher strength and/or rigidity of the second material should be required, to effectively strengthen the tub 1. Therefore, a recycling rate of the second material may be set to a low priority. Therefore, a recycling rate of the first material may be higher than that of the second material. Since the tub body 11 occupies a significantly large portion of the tub 1, a recyclable part of the tub 1 accounts for a high proportion, while the overall strength and rigidity of the tub 1 can be ensured.
Since no additional component needs to be installed from the inner side of the bottom wall 13, the inner side of the bottom wall 13, that is, one side away from the support portion 30 is entirely flat.
In addition, the first wall 131 and the bottom wall 13 are on a same extension surface. It may be understood that the first wall 131 does not sink or bulge inwardly or outwardly relative to a rest part of the bottom wall 13. The support portion 30 includes a first surface 34 facing the bottom wall 13 and a second surface 35 facing away from the bottom wall 13. The second wall 31 is recessed relative to the first surface 34 in a direction away from the first wall.
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the first reinforcing ribs 33 are evenly distributed around the bearing 36 along a circumferential direction on one side of the support portion 30 facing away from the bottom wall 13. The first reinforcing ribs 33 are distributed in a radial pattern.
Preferably, a coverage region of the first reinforcing ribs 33 includes a second wall 31, that is, several first reinforcing ribs 33 are also arranged on one side of the second wall 31 facing away from the bottom wall, so that the second wall 31 is also reinforced. From a thickness direction, the first reinforcing rib 31 is higher on the region closer to the central position of the bearing 36. A height of the first reinforcing rib 31 at the second wall 31 is lower than that of the first reinforcing rib 31 at the reinforcing portion 32.
Several second reinforcing ribs 135 are arranged on the outer side of the bottom wall 13, that is, a position that is one side facing the support portion 30 and avoids the first wall 131. The second reinforcing ribs 135 are approximately distributed radially around the second hole 133, and are even along a circumferential direction.
The support portion 30 is welded to the bottom wall 13 at the second reinforcing ribs 135. Especially, the reinforcing portion 32 of the support portion 30 is welded to the several second reinforcing ribs 135, and a welding surface is spread in a flat surface. In this way, the second reinforcing ribs 135 have a reinforcing effect, the connection between the support portion 30 and the bottom wall 13 is tighter, further enhancing the strength of the tub 1, and especially the strength of the position of the air channel 10 is ensured.
In a preferred embodiment, positions of at least some of the first reinforcing ribs 31 correspond to positions of at least some of the second reinforcing ribs 135. In this way, the stress can be better transferred.
In a preferred embodiment, at least some of the first reinforcing ribs 31 are penetrated through and are welded to the second reinforcing ribs 135. The position where the first reinforcing ribs 31 are penetrated through may be regarded to be hollowed. The first reinforcing ribs 31 may be in direct contact with and welded to the second reinforcing ribs 135.
Through the first reinforcing ribs 31, the second reinforcing ribs 135, and large-area welding between the support portion 30 and the bottom wall 13, a stable and high-strength integrated structure is formed by the support portion 30 and the bottom wall 13, and the air channel 10 is hidden in the structure, achieving perfect unity of high strength and space saving.
As shown in FIG. 1, the support portion 30 includes an outlet connection portion 37, and is connected to the external air channel 20, especially connected to an air inlet portion 22 of the external air channel 20. The outlet connection portion 37 has a cross section larger than a flow cross section of the air channel 10.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the air channel 10 provides a space for heat exchange. In a drying process, hot air carrying evaporated moisture is cooled in the air channel 10, and the moisture in the air is condensed into water and discharged. The dry air then enters the external air channel 20, and re-enters the tub body 11 to heat and evaporate moisture after being heated by a heating device (not shown in the figures) in the external air channel 20. The cycle repeats.
In this way, a heat exchange device 40 is connected to the air channel 10, and a cooling medium is introduced to exchange heat with air passing through the air channel 10. The heat exchange device 40 may be a water-cooled, air-cooled, or heat-pump heat exchange device. Since these types of heat exchange devices are common in the field of washer dryers, details are not described one by one. An example in which a water-cooled heat exchange device 40 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is used for a brief description. In the embodiments shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the heat exchange device 40 is implemented as a water inlet pipe with an outlet located in the air channel 10. The water inlet pipe can introduce cooling water to form a water film and/or a water curtain in the air channel 10, to cool hot and humid air in contact with the water inlet pipe, so that the moisture in the air is condensed and separated from the air.
The various specific embodiments described above and shown in the figures are merely used to describe the present invention. Modifications in any form made to the present invention by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the basic technical idea of the present invention shall all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

A tub, used in a drum type washer dryer, and comprising a tub body (11), wherein a first side of the tub body is provided with an opening (12), and a second side opposite to the first side is provided with a bottom wall (13), characterized in that: a support portion (30) is connected to the bottom wall from an outer side of the bottom wall, one side of the bottom wall facing the support portion is provided with a first wall (131), one side of the support portion facing the bottom wall is provided with a second wall (31) opposite to the first wall, after the support portion is connected to the bottom wall, an air channel (10) is formed between the first wall and the second wall, one of an inlet (101) and an outlet (102) of the air channel is located on the bottom wall, another one of the inlet and the outlet of the air channel is at least partially located on the support portion, the support portion comprises a reinforcing portion (32) extending laterally outward around the second wall, and several first reinforcing ribs (33) are arranged on the reinforcing portion.
The tub according to claim 1, characterized in that: one side of the bottom wall away from the support portion is entirely flat, and/or, the first wall and a rest part of the bottom wall are on a same extension surface, the support portion comprises a first surface (34) facing the bottom wall and a second surface (35) facing away from the bottom wall, and the second wall is recessed relative to the first surface (34) in a direction away from the first wall.
The tub according to claim 1, characterized in that: several second reinforcing ribs (135) are arranged on a position that is on one side of the bottom wall (13) facing the support portion, and avoids the first wall (131), and the support portion (30) is welded to the bottom wall (13) at the second reinforcing ribs (135).
The tub according to claim 3, characterized in that: positions of at least some of the first reinforcing ribs (33) correspond to positions of at least some of the second reinforcing ribs (135).
The tub according to claim 4, characterized in that: at least some of the first reinforcing ribs are penetrated through and are welded to the second reinforcing ribs.
The tub according to claim 1, characterized in that: several first reinforcing ribs (33) are arranged on one side of the second wall (31) facing away from the bottom wall.
The tub according to claim 6, characterized in that: the first reinforcing ribs are evenly distributed along a circumferential direction on one side of the support portion facing away from the bottom wall.
The tub according to claim 1, characterized in that: the tub body (11) is made of a first material, the support portion (30) is made of a second material, a recycling rate of the first material is higher than that of the second material, and/or, strength of the second material is higher than that of the first material.
The tub according to claim 8, characterized in that: the first material comprises a polypropylene material containing talc powder, and/or, the second material comprises a polypropylene material containing fiberglass.
The tub according to claim 1, characterized in that: a bearing (36) is arranged on the support portion (30) near a central region, the bottom wall is provided with a second hole (133), a drive shaft (3) is supported by the bearing (36), and passes through the second hole, to drive a drum (2) in the tub, and a periphery of the bearing is reinforced by the several first reinforcing ribs (33).
The tub according to claim 10, characterized in that: the air channel (10) avoids the bearing (36) and presents an approximately "C" shaped extension path.
The tub according to claim 1, characterized in that: the support portion (30) covers most of the outer side of the bottom wall.
The tub according to claim 1, characterized in that: the support portion (30) comprises an outlet connection portion (37), and is connected to an external air channel (20), wherein the outlet connection portion (37) has a cross section larger than a flow cross section of the air channel (10).
The tub according to claim 1, characterized in that: the tub body (11) comprises a front tub (111) and a rear tub (112), the opening (12) is located on the front tub (111), the bottom wall (13) is located on the rear tub (112), and the front tub and the rear tub are made of a same recyclable material.
A drum type washer dryer, characterized by comprising the tub (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein an external air channel (20) is connected to the air channel (10), a blowing device (21) is arranged in the external air channel, to cause air to flow, and a drive shaft (3) passes through the support portion (30) and the bottom wall (13), to be connected to a drum (2) in the tub.
The drum type washer dryer according to claim 15, characterized in that: a heat exchange device (40) is connected to the air channel (10), and a cooling medium is introduced to exchange heat with air passing through the air channel (10).